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I’m not into the “get rich quick” schemes but what I am into is being responsible with my finances, and hopefully helping a few people along the way. I’m not the smartest person with finances but I read (a lot) of personal finance blogs and have learned a lot from ordinary people who have made mistakes and learned from them as well as who have made decisions that were straight dead on.

So there are a few things I’ve decided when it comes to my money.
One: It isn’t really mine so I hold it with open hands. It’s entrusted to me to use for the good of others and myself and to honor God and people around me. And…
Two: I would like to be a millionaire one day.

Pretty simple, really. Nothing to get stressed about. But it is a little something for me to get excited about and work towards. Slowly, but surely.

So here it is:

My Millionaire To Do List

1. Open a 401(k) plan and fund it up to the max my employer will match.
For me, this is 5% of what I make. So on a yearly basis I’ll add 5% of my income and my employer will match it so whatever 10% of my income is that year is how much will be added to my 401(k) for the year. Cool!

2. Open a Roth IRA and max it out yearly.
A roth IRA can be funded up to $5,000 a year. And what is great about Roth IRAs is that you get taxed on it as you put it in, not when you pull it out. Perfect.

3. Keep a budget and be frugal but not to too frugal.
What I love about a budget is that I get to tell myself how much I get to give myself in my savings accounts as well as how much I get to just spend on whatever I want. (Of course, the bills are in there too but not quite as exciting.) And it helps me stay frugal. Knowing that I want to be able to have an extraordinary amount of money in my savings accounts gives me the inspiration I need to live my day-to-day life a little less luxuriously.

4. Regularly find ways to increase my income.
This could be trying to get a raise or promotion at work, or starting a side business or selling random things I don’t need anymore. The more channels of income I have the more income I’ll have. And income is the best way to save more money. Cause I can live off of what I have right now. So if I make more, I can keep living off of what I have right now and save all the extra.

So the question is…why create a millionaire to do list? Why save instead of spend? Well, I don’t save for the sake of saving. I save so I can live well when I’m older. I save so I can go on vacation later. I save so I can buy the new laptop with cash. I save so I can give to others whenever I want to.